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" I wanted
to like Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain but there's just too much about it
that rubbed me wrong. "

&nbsp Title: Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain
by Sony

&nbsp Format: PS2 Action/Shooter

&nbsp Reviewing Monkey: Our Ape Master

&nbsp The Hype: One of the most beloved stealth/action
shooters in Playstation history finally gets an upgrade to the PS2. But will
this head shot rewarding love fest transition live up to its potential? Read
on, my monkeys, and find out.

&nbsp What This Monkey Thought...

&nbsp Graphics: I grant you, it can't be easy
to keep designing level after level of drab gray buildings and enemy after enemy,
but we know for a fact it can be done a whole helluva lot better than this.
Not hideous, per se, but definitely a far cry from what we've come to expect
lately from the powerful PS2, Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain (SFOS) just doesn't
seem to try hard enough. With backgrounds that are painfully monotonous, character
models that lack any respectable level of detail, and FX that do nothing to
expire, the reasons to play SFOS have nothing to do with it being pretty…though
it does get extra points for letting you custom create your character (though,
until you unlock enhancements, the options available to you are sparse at best).
2.5 out of 5

&nbsp Playability: Unlike previous Syphon Filter
games, which tended to put you in a decision making role as to how you were
going to carry out a mission, SFOS does a pretty thorough job of not giving
you much of a choice. Often having mission parameters or ammo shortages that
will define your gameplay for you, get used to the idea that you will be playing
it through the way they wanted you to from start to finish. Now, that wouldn't
be a bad thing, per se, if they still gave you some flexibility in planning
your attack and accomplishing objectives. Instead, SFOS relies on gimmicky level
concepts and one-solution only puzzles that will often have you gnawing on your
controller in frustration. Constant and seemingly random enemy respawns mean
that trying to apply an organized strategy will be useless, one-solution level
areas and puzzle sections will stomp on your creativity, and single player unsolvable
sections (more on this in a second) will quickly teach you to try for no-more
than the bare minimums, since you quite probably will be able to do little more
than that on your own.
Why these problems were
worked into a game with as promising a history as Syphon's is every bit as confusing
as the total lack of controller customizability. Just like the control scheme,
which is unnatural and near freakish in its dexterous requirements (the controls
are not only totally unchangeable, but also completely unintuitive, and often
require you to push down four separate buttons scattered across the pad at once
while effectively ignoring the right analog stick entirely), the game can be
a frustrating exercise in learning not to think for your self and just accept
things as they are…punishing alternative attempts at solving with quick deaths
and painful level restarts until you finally just say, "Screw it." By way of
example, there are a number of objectives that are only accomplishable in an
on-line multiplayer game. Now, that might be fine, if the game didn't leave
you hanging in the wind to figure that out. Rather than having them locked out
of the single player game, they persist to haunt you…potentially forever if
you lack a broadband connection. 2 out of 5

&nbsp Story and Drama: The Syphon virus is back,
again, and remains as elusive as ever. Similar to the first three games, The
Agency is powerless to stop it…though they seem to only be able to spare one
competent man (or woman) to try. Hardly compelling, though serviceable, the
story won't anger you but will remind you why no one talks about video game
stories at the water cooler. 3 out of 5

&nbsp Multiplayer and Replayability: Both the
high, and low, point of SFOS is the multiplayer. By adding up to 4 player co-op
to the single player campaign, an exciting and thoroughly needed element is
added to an otherwise lackluster game. The problem is that, while quite a bit
of thought was put into the "why should you play online" aspect (the answer
being "because you have to if you want to finish it all"), not much was put
into making it an effective or pleasurable experience. A lack of cohesiveness
or unit tactics makes playing a bit like watching a friend have a seizure: you
don't know why they're doing what they're doing, what you can do to stop them,
or how to have fun while they're freaking out. Still, I give them big points
just for trying and throwing in a ton of unlockable features that you'll unveil
in the process. 3.5 out of 5

&nbsp The Verdict:

I wanted to like Syphon Filter:
The Omega Strain but there's just too much about it that rubbed me wrong.
As chaffing as a love toy made of sandpaper, the numerous play issues
and frustrating design will send you looking for one of the myriad of
more polished espionage games on the market.

&nbsp The Good: Co-op online play gives the
game a kick…

&nbsp The Bad: That isn't nearly polished enough
to make up for the lackluster single player, the dogged controls, or the general
melancholy of the rest of the game.

&nbsp The Overall Ugly: I didn't hate it, but
I'm never gonna look at it again, either.